In Your Arms
by kissesbyme
Summary: Rose DeWitt Bukater managed to flee from a sinking ship as well as her family. Now stranded in a small town in Wisconsin the Harrison family takes her in. Will her life finally come at ease with new friends, opportunities and the so called young and free spirited brother from Mrs Harrison. But nothing is as easy as it seems when her past haunts her more than she thinks.


That night, there was nothing but a young woman making her way to nowhere in the cheerlessness of the pouring rain that fell from the sky. It was dark, too dark for a normal twilight in May. Rose had nothing but something she had been longing for, for her entire life. She was free. Her heart belonged to no one and no one belonged to her heart. But still, somewhere far in the back of her mind, there was this fear that still haunted her. The fear of him.

Before Rose could think any further of the events that had happened to her in this past month, there was a sound that snapped her out of her thoughts.

"Excuse me, miss?" A voice called behind her. It was the voice of a man, slightly older. It was a warm and kind voice, making her turn around in an instant. The man in the carriage smiled kindly at her. "I've been seeing you walk around for a while now and I just wanted to ask if you were alright since these are not really the best circumstances for a young woman to walk in."

"Thank you, sir." She responded politely, "I'm alright."

"You don't know where you are going, are you, miss?"

With that Rose did not respond and slowed down her pace. The man nodded at her when he then proposed to her to get into his carriage. Rose was hesitant at first. In fact it was a total stranger and strangers weren't always the best people to trust so bluntly, especially not when you meet them in the dark, or so she'd often read about in novels. But this man rendered nothing but pure kindness. So he lifted her up in his carriage.

"I am Richard Harrison."

"Rose De—Rose Collins."

"Well, miss Collins, I bet you aren't wandering around here voluntarily."

Rose smiled sadly, but she did not look at him. Instead, she held her gaze onto the road in front of her, which had almost turned into a streaming river.

"Let's just say I am somewhat lost." She finally said after seconds of total silence.

"I bet my wife has some dinner left for you to eat, you certainly need some fuel." Richard said with a concerned voice. Rose had indeed lost some weight during the past weeks. She had those luscious curves no longer and her body looked weak and overall she appeared exhausted. And exhausted she was. As they continued further on, Rose's mind drifted off to the night of the disaster and the days after it. She had lost her mother and fiancé in all chaos and then, when all hope was almost lost, an officer dropped her in one of the last lifeboats. It was on the third-class deck of the Carpathia that she last saw him. Covered in blankets she gazed at his back out of the corner of her eyes. Caledon Hockley was no longer the burden in her life, nor was her mother. Yet somewhere, deep down in her heart, there was this fear of them still, hunting her down. After having changed her name to Collins, the name of a young-girl she had gotten to know quite well during the voyage, she set off to nowhere. And now here she was in Chippewa Falls, a town she had never heard of. But it was close to Lake Wissota, a place young Alicia Collins had told a story about.

"Here we are miss Collins." He said and helped her down. It was a small little farm Rose had her eyes on. And even through the pouring rain, it still looked most welcome to her with those soft lights that shone through the windows.

"Richard, Richard is that you?" A voice called from upstairs as they entered the house. A woman appeared seconds later, looking utterly confused at her husband and the red-haired girl.

"What on earth happened?" She said.

"Emily, this is Rose Collins."

"My goodness, Rose Collins, dear, here let me help you with your clothes."

"Oh no it is alright, ma'am."

"Dear, you are soaked to the bone. And so are you." Emily turned her head towards her husband. "Here follow me." She took Rose gently by her arm and took her upstairs. Taking a towel and a white piece of clothing, which was a nightdress, Emily put it onto the bed in the spare room. She smiled at Rose with pity and told her that after having herself cleaned up she could come down to have some leftover leek-pie and a good cup of hot milk.

"I want you to stay here for tonight, I'm not letting you leave until this weather is over and done."

Being now left alone, Rose sighed in relief and gently rubbed her hair with the blue towel. "I thank you, God." She whispered to herself as she closed her eyes. "I thank you for letting me be free."

"I couldn't leave her all by herself." Richard sighed and sat down at the kitchen table.

"Of course you couldn't." Emily kissed his hand and smiled. "But where does she come from?"

"She told me she was lost. That was all she said for she was quiet the whole journey long. I doubt she is from around here since it looked like she did not have any idea where she was going."

"She'll explain when she gets down. But for you love, I am glad you are home."

But that night, Rose did not leave her tiny room because she had entered a deep sleep.

And the rain was still there, ticking against the window of Rose's room, awakening her in the late morning.

"Sleep did you well, dear." Emily welcomed her for breakfast. It was now that Rose noticed what a beauty Mrs. Harrison was. With her dark-blonde hair and eyes as blue as the sky during a soft day in spring. And her stomach… How long had she been pregnant for? Perhaps that was why she looked so radiant and happy.

"We were worried about you," she continued, "until Richard had a look and saw you were fast asleep. We both thought it would be best to let you sleep for as long as was necessary."

"Mrs. Harrison, I ran away." Rose suddenly said out of nowhere. And as the words fell from her lips a sudden wave of both regret and relief rushed through her. Emily Harrison's eyes looked at her with great sympathy and pointed her hand to the chair.

"I had my suspicions. Please, sit down."

"It was the first thing I thought about when I woke up." Rose spoke, "You must have been thinking, who on earth is this strange girl entering my house on a night like this. And not questioning anything, Mrs. Harrison, your kindness, I just had to speak the truth."

"And I am the first one you have spoken the truth to ever since you left, aren't I? "

Could she read her mind? Now she had to come clean about everything. But the way she ran away… That night. Those days. She could not bear it.

"I was engaged, Mrs. Harrison. Let's just say we weren't the best match. Although people thought we were, believe me, we weren't."

"I see…"

"You must think I have lost my mind. Abandoning my family, leaving without a trace."

"No." She smiled sadly and took Rose's hand, "People don't usually run away for the sake of it, do they? You must have felt miserable."

"God and how." Rose thought to herself. But she remained calm and casually said, "I did not love him."

"Mommy." A sudden voice echoed through the house. A little boy, about the age of 4, rushed through the kitchen.

"Go and find your father, Samuel, mommy is too busy right now."

Samuel turned his head to Rose and hid behind his mother's chair.

"You don't have to be shy, darling," Emily informed her son and pulled him towards her, "This is Rose Collins, a very nice young-lady."

Samuel giggled shyly and rushed off, presumably to find his father.

"Your son is a lovely little thing, Mrs. Harrison." Rose said, smiling."

"Oh he can be so shy at times it sometimes worries me."

"Well…" Rose stood up, "I must go and get my things then."

"But why?" Emily asked surprised. She had somewhat hoped Rose would have been too tired to go on. Not for the poor girl's sake, but for her own, as she had gotten to like her a good bit.

"Mrs. Harrison, I don't want to be a burden. You've been kind enough to let me stay the night."

"My dear, how could I ever let you go outside in this weather? Where shall you go? I would never forgive myself if anything happened to you. Please stay, at least for now. I have some oatmeal left. You _need_ to eat it."

Rose had actually forgotten how hungry she was until she looked at the plate in front of her. And still, she had not forgotten the certain ways she had been expected to eat. Like a lady, she straightened her back and laid the white napkin down onto her lap. Emily raised an eyebrow at the sight of the girl and could not ignore her curiosity.

"Where have you run away from, dear?"

"You mean where do I come from?"

"Yes." Emily nodded.

"Philadelphia." She said softly.

"Don't you have any brothers or sisters whom you still keep in contact with?"

"No, Mrs. Harrison, I am an only child."

"But Richard," Said Emily to her husband that afternoon. The rain had finally stopped and the sun brought out the most beautiful colors of spring. "I like her dearly. I can't send her away. Besides you were the one who brought her in last night."

"I know." He sighed and tossed his pitchfork to the side, "and I like her too. The only thing I am worried about is you. Won't it all be too much? With us and Samuel and the other baby coming."

"I still have five months to go, Richard."

"Don't forget your brother who's now somewhere floating on the ocean, making his way to his sister's famous meatloaf."

"Jack won't be here before the end of the month. But I'll be fine. You know how much I love to have the ones I care about the most all close to me. Oh and little Samuel, he has been asking me, every single night, if his uncle is already here ever since the day I told he was coming back."

"Well let her stay." Richard then said, "Perhaps she could help you around the house, look after Sam."

Emily smiled happily at her husband.

 _Flashback_

Rose could no longer bear the color of black as it made her feel like she was no part of the group. Her friends in their soft crème lace dresses and hats with vibrant flowers. And she had not cried. Not a single tear, as she could remember, had rolled down her cheek. Not even when her father's lifeless body laid inside that dusty old coffin.

"Oh you'll come to the party tonight, Rose, won't you?" Isabel Highland asked, her voice altered into a childish tone.

"I am not quite sure." She answered. She tilted her head and noticed the young couple on the other side of the bushes. They hadn't known each other for so long. 'New lovers', because the girl with shiny blonde girls giggled nervously as the man kissed her cheek. Rose smiled at them. She wanted it to be a generous smile, the kind of smile that would say; 'congratulations to you both.' But it was a smile of jealousy and loneliness.

"My sister has this really nice black evening dress if that's what you're concerned about."

Was she joking?

"You know, Isabel," Rose turned back to face her friend. "I think mother quite needs me tonight."

"Oh come on, Rose." She whined and pulled her hand towards her. She lowered her voice. "You can't be in the state of mourning forever. Listen. I know your mother has been desperate ever since she found out that your father has left you with nothing but a good name. But if you'll just be patient, a suitor will come along eventually. What about a very rich man with dark, dreamy and melancholy eyes? And if you come tonight." She smiled cheekily. "You'll be surrounded by plenty of young and rich men. I heard that Jonathan Willia-"

"Thank you, Isabel Highland, for your warm and tenderness words." Rose cut her off. "Yet hereby I have decided to spend the evening with my mother."

As soon as she returned back home, Trudy, her maid, greeted her by the door to tell her that her mother wanted to speak to her rapidly.

"Is she in bed again?" Rose asked worriedly, "Is she alright?"

"More than alright, miss Rose." Trudy smiled. "I haven't seen her in this state of joy in months. She's in the library."

And joyous she was. Rose opened the door of the library rather uneasy, not expecting her mother to rush towards her and kiss her on the cheek more than once.

"It's settled." Ruth cried out.

"What is settled, mother?" Rose did not know whether to be happy or anxious about the current situation and she could see that her mother had been crying. Somewhere, she predicted the worse.

"Hockley. Rose, my sweet Rose, it is here in my hands, written down and official. You are now engaged to Caledon Hockley."

Rose's heart dropped to her stomach.


End file.
